A game between the NFL’s two best defenses turned into a shootout. The Ravens fizzled in the fourth quarter, while the Browns popped.

The Ravens led 31-17 early in the fourth quarter Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium and looked poised for their fifth straight win. But Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson led three scoring drives in the final 11:34, Lamar Jackson threw a pick-six and Baltimore lost, 33-31, for the first time in over a month.

The Browns trailed by one — because of a missed extra point after Greg Newsome’s pick-six with 8:16 left — with about five minutes remaining when they regained possession as Jackson and the Ravens’ offense continued to flounder. After overcoming a shoulder injury and struggling for much of the season and Sunday’s game, Watson looked like his old self in the final frame, leading a game-winning 58-yard drive to put kicker Dustin Hopkins in position to redeem himself and send Ravens fans home dismayed.

He did, nailing the 40-yard field goal and handing the Ravens their third heartbreaking loss of the season. Before Baltimore’s dominant winning steak, it collapsed late in similarly bizarre fashion to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Indianapolis Colts.

Baltimore would’ve claimed sole possession of first place in the AFC with a win. Instead, the Ravens’ lead atop the AFC North fell to half a game over the Browns (6-3) and Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3). The Cincinnati Bengals (5-4), who head to Baltimore for a prime-time Thursday night game, are in last place after falling to the Houston Texans.

The Browns entered M&T Bank Stadium coming off a dominant 27-0 win over the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday. Despite a tumultuous season as Watson, their embattled signal caller, has dealt with a shoulder injury, Cleveland had a winning record thanks to its dominant defense. The only defense with a more convincing statistical case as the NFL’s best were the Ravens, who allowed just 13.8 points per game through their first nine.

Neither unit played like it Sunday, although Kyle Hamilton’s pick-six on the second play of the game was an early highlight. The interception was the second of his young career, while the touchdown was his first, and it couldn’t have come easier as he had a clear path to walk into the end zone after tipping Watson’s pass, keeping his wits about him to catch it and then waltzing into the end zone.

Running back Keaton Mitchell, last Sunday’s breakout star, quickly made it a two-score game on his first touch of the game, bouncing an inside handoff outside and racing past three Browns defenders for a 39-yard score — his second career touchdown.

The East Carolina standout, who scored a 38-yard touchdown last week in addition to a 60-yard run, is the first player in Ravens history with rushing touchdowns of at least 35 yards in back-to-back games. He later had a 32-yard gain on a screen — solidifying his presence as a home-run hitter in the Ravens’ offense — on a drive that ended in a Justin Tucker field goal to put Baltimore up 17-3.

The 14-point lead was the latest example of Baltimore’s first-quarter dominance. The Ravens have outscored their opponents 79-16 in them.

The Browns outplayed the Ravens in the second quarter to enter halftime down 17-9. The Ravens’ three offensive drives in the period ended in a punt, a blocked field goal (on a Tucker 55-yard attempt) and a Jackson interception. However, Baltimore’s defense didn’t allow the offensive miscues to hurt too much, holding Cleveland to two field goals and preventing the Browns from getting into position for a third.

The Ravens’ first drive of the second half ended the same way their opening drive did: with a long touchdown. This time, instead of the 21-year-old Mitchell it was the 31-year-old Odell Beckham Jr. After scoring his first touchdown since Super Bowl LVI last week, Beckham found the end zone again, beating his defender on a slant and sprinting for a 40-yard touchdown from Jackson.

The Browns responded with a 17-play, 75-yard drive, converting several third and fourth downs. Running back Kareem Hunt barreled into the end zone from 3 yards, and Watson converted the 2-point conversion to trail 24-17 early in the fourth.

Baltimore appeared to seal the victory after a muffed punt from former Ravens wide receiver James Proche led to a 1-yard touchdown run for Gus Edwards — his seventh in the past four games. The Ravens had a 97.1% win expectancy after Justin Madubuike sacked Watson with 11:34 to go, according to ESPN, but Watson quickly spearheaded a scoring drive, culminating in a 10-yard pass to Elijah Moore.

Jackson then threw his second interception, as his tipped pass landed in the arms of Newsome, who matched Hamilton’s pick-six with one of his own for a 34-yard return. Hopkins’ extra point, though, was wide left to give the Ravens a narrow 31-30 lead. The Ravens’ offense stalled again, giving the Browns an opportunity for the surprise comeback.

This story will be updated.

Week 11

Bengals at Ravens

Thursday, 8:15 p.m.

TV/Stream: ABC/Prime Video

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM

Line: Ravens by 2 1/2

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